Automakers like Rivian and Ford are ‘democratizing 3D printing’ to reduce costs and increase speed

DETROIT — Automakers including Ford Motor and Rivian Automotive are leaning into a new type of manufacturing line: 3D printing.

Manufacturers say it's helping them reduce costs and increase speed. The technology has been around for decades, but it's becoming more commoditized in the automotive industry, with 3D printers used to create everything from vehicle parts and accessories to tools for assembly plants and testing units for research and development labs.

"At this point, we don't have a choice but to scale up and begin using it through all factions of Rivian," Jared Beck, head of Rivian's additive manufacturing, told CNBC during a tour of the automaker's expansive 3D-printing operations in suburban Detroit. "We're going to be democratizing 3D printing for the entire company."

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing can create three-dimensional objects from digital designs by dispensing material layer by layer, much like a traditional printer does with ink on paper. Instead of ink, the machines use a wide variety of materials such as plastics, composites, ceramics and even metals.

Printers can range from hundreds of dollars for hobby-like devices to hundreds of thousands of dollars for specialty equipment, depending on how big the product being produced is and the material it needs. They can produce individual pieces or hundreds of smaller parts in a batch using powders and resins.

Rivian said it has spent more than $5 million on 3D-printing machines, with the cost of materials for the operations growing to about $1.7 million annually.

Beck said despite the costs, the machines typically pay for themselves within a year. He said the technology helps lower supplier tooling costs, streamline logistics expenses and cut production times for parts from weeks to days, if not hours.

"It's well in the millions [for savings], but the main thing is speed for Rivian," Beck said.

The all-electric vehicle company's latest expansion of 3D printing includes adding new machines that can build flexible silicone parts as well as installing a bay of machines at its plant in Normal, Illinois, for employees to print parts on demand.

"3D prints should be readily available for every engineer so that they can make a part and get it in their hands as soon as possible," Beck said.

Rivian has also used the technology for electric-motor models for fluid testing, creating screw guides for tooling and stamping press inserts and some production parts, including trim pieces to fill gaps in some early builds.

There's a similar push underway at larger, more-established automakers like Ford and its crosstown rival General Motors , which have used 3D printing for many years, including in their massive assembly plants.